Patch Walk
On Thursday 15th June, we joined a patch walk around Anstey with officers from Charnwood Borough Council, including the Tenancy Officer, anti-social behaviour (ASB) Officer, and Engagement Officer. PC Moore from the local police beat team also joined us.
We walked around some of the council-owned properties and some ASB hotspots and discussed what action needed to be taken to address some of the issues raised. We also had a drop-in surgery for residents in Anstey Community Library.
It was an especially useful patch walk and we will continue to conduct further patch walks in the future.
New Leadership at the Council
Following the local elections on May 4th 2023, the Labour Group have 20 councillors, while the Conservatives have 23. There are also eight Green Party councillors and one Independent.
A report to the first Council meeting set out that no political group has overall control of the Council, but an agreement had been reached between the Labour Group with Green Party councillors to support a minority Labour administration.
A new leader of Charnwood Borough Council has therefore been elected.
Cllr Jewel Miah was voted in at the Annual Council Meeting on Monday, May 22nd as the Labour group, which he leads, was asked to form the Council’s ruling administration.
The Conservative group now sit as the Opposition party on the council. We both have new roles; Paul is Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group and Deborah is the Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing.
The new Mayor of Charnwood was also sworn in at the Council’s Annual Meeting on Monday, May 22nd.
Cllr Margaret Smidowicz is looking forward to representing Charnwood after being voted in as the Borough’s first citizen and Mayor at Loughborough Town Hall.
Cllr Smidowicz will be representing the Borough at hundreds of events over the next year and will be supported by her consort, son-in-law, Timothy Baum.
Cllr Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE has been elected deputy Mayor of Charnwood and will be supported by her Mayoress, Julie Ellerbeck.
Planning
Another planning application has been submitted for Anstey, for a further 375 houses. This application is on Gynsill Lane. We are currently writing our response to this application, and we will be submitting it to Charnwood Borough Council very soon.
This will be shared on our website: https://www.bradgateconservatives.org.uk/ and on our social media platforms.
You can view all the details on the Charnwood Planning Portal here: https://portal.charnwood.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorerAA/Home.aspx using the reference number: P/23/0659/2
This site is part of a much larger site that is earmarked for development with land in Leicester City and Blaby District Council.
Here is a plan for the whole of the proposed site.
Solar Together Scheme
A group-buying energy scheme which can help residents invest in solar panels to save on energy bills and cut carbon emissions is returning to Charnwood. ‘Solar Together Leicestershire’ helps people looking to make an investment in solar panels on their house and battery storage systems for a reduced rate.
Residents who register will be entered into an auction, where solar photovoltaic (PV) suppliers compete by offering the lowest rate for solar panel installation. The more people registered, the lower the price will be.
Working with independent experts iChoosr, ‘Solar Together’ then provides those signed up with a free, no-obligation offer from the successful energy supplier. A personal recommendation will be emailed out with information on the winning solar panel installer, the proposed system, costs, and savings ready for residents to make their choice.
This innovative scheme builds on six years of highly successful ‘Solar Together’ programmes run across the UK with ‘Solar Together Leicestershire’ involved for the last 12 months. So far, ‘Solar Together’ has delivered more than 14,000 installations and more than 300,000 tonnes of avoided lifetime carbon emissions across the country.
Residents can sign up for free and registrations are now open. For more information and to sign up, visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/solar-together
Member Grants
The Member Grants Scheme 2023-24 is now open to applications. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024.
Member Grants enable us to provide grants to a wide variety of community and voluntary organisations within Anstey to actively assist the community to enjoy a better quality of life.
We have each been allocated a budget of £500 which can be used to support projects that bring benefits to our ward. We can spend our allocated amount of £500 on one project, divide it over two projects, or combine it with other funding from another councillor within the same ward.
The minimum you can apply for is £250 from each councillor, and the maximum you can apply for is £500 from each councillor.
An organisation can submit more than one application in a financial year, but the application must not relate to the same project/scheme previously funded by the same Member.
If the total project cost is more than you are applying for, you will need to provide details of other sources of income, including grants, fundraising and membership subs etc. that will be used to cover the full project cost.
If your organisation would be interested in applying for a Member Grant, please contact us to discuss your request first.
Further details can be found here:
https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/member_grants
If you have any issues or concerns, we are here to help.
